A silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material is required to be improved in various aspects. In particular, in response to the recent demand for a higher image quality, a light-sensitive material is required to have a more improved gradation as well as stability against the variation of processing conditions.
Generally, the gradation of an image is controlled by changing the properties of a silver halide grain. For instance, a desired gradation is obtained by mixing two or more silver halides differing in grain diameter and sensitivity. Gradation is also adjusted by dividing a color-sensitive layer into two or more layers, i.e., a high-sensitive layer comprising silver halide grains with larger grain sizes and a low-sensitive layer comprising silver halide grains with smaller grain sizes.
A reversal-type color photographic light-sensitive material is demanded to be stable against the variation of processing conditions.
As described in T. H. James ed. "The Theory of the Photographic Process", 4th ed.(New York, Macmillan), p 336, the development of a reversal-type color photographic light-sensitive material comprises the following steps; the 1st development in which monochromatic development is carried out; fogging of the residual silver halide by light exposure or chemicals; color development in the presence of a coupler; bleaching; and fixing. In the above process, a silver halide left undeveloped in the lst development is fogged, and the fogged silver halide is then subjected to color development. Such complicated processing procedures result in a greater variation of processing conditions, and then leads to a greater variation of photographic properties. In the case of a reversal-type color photographic light-sensitive material, if the same color-sensitive layer is divided into a high-sensitive layer and a low-sensitive layer, a difference in grain size causes a difference in developability in these layers in the 1st development, resulting in a greater variation of processing conditions. Such variation makes the gradation of an image ill-balanced by forced development in the case of a reversal film, and makes photographic properties vary with processing laboratories in the case of a reversal paper.